Jumper's
by kaiwai
Summary: The paladins finally get to a place like their home, and when they do, unbeknownst to them, they discover a new friend that has everything they're looking for-literally.


**A/N: As a kid, I absolutely loved Voltron. I remember the series very vaguely because I remember I was barely able to catch the show when it came on, but it was glorious. And when they came out with a remake? Phew. I was dead. So here's something I threw together that only people that have read the comic Jumper will understand(if you've seen the movie with the kid Hayden Christensen that works too.).** **If you haven't, the guys that kill the jumpers are called paladins. You'll put two and two together in the book.** **Enjoy!** -Kaiwai

It _can_ _only get better before it gets worse_.

Who said that? Who had the right to say something like that? How can anybody spew such bullsh-

"Better get a move on," a voice from behind called, and the young, pink-haired waitress to whom the earlier thoughts belonged rushed to get the last few chairs off the bar and get it wiped down and ready for intergalactic travelers and the usual local riffraff.

The pink-haired waitress smoothed out her all-black uniform in the bathroom and took a breath. They had grown fairly busy, and by lunch hour, there was a pleasant conversational buzz in the dining room of the glass restaurant.

"Hey, what're you doing in here, girl?" Another waitress asked, and the pink-haired waitress was shoved out of the bathroom before she could protest. The brunette went on to talk about something; the pink-haired waitress wasn't really interested. Instead, she looked over curiously at the group of men in strange outfits that walked in. One in particular caught her eye.

"Alright! Now this is my kind of planet. They've got so much stuff here from back Earth, I think I might stay here forever," the one in the blue suit said, and the bigger one in the yellow suit next to him held his stomach. "Man, just when I was starting to get used to the goo at the castle," he whined and one of the others in a red suit made a face. "If I never have to eat eat that goop again, it'd be too soon," he noted, shaking his head.

"Quit your crying and let's get some food. The princess wants us back at the castle by the time she and Coran finish collecting that fuel," another in black said, but the first in the blue suit was too distracted to hear him.

"Looks like I'm already popular here. Ladies," he said to the pink and brown haired waitresses that passed by.

"We'll be right with you!" the brunette called, and the men all went on to talk while they waited.

Then the pink-haired waitress heard a word from their mouths that sent chills down her spine.

"... _paladins_..."

"Okay, listen up, girls. We got some famous customers out there, and I'm not sure I trust any of you to serve them. So I'm going to pick a waitress I can trust," the owner said, but it seemed that the pink-haired waitress was the only one not getting giddy.

 _Paladins...they're here for me...they're going to kill me..._

"You!" the owner called as she pointed at the pink-haired waitress, and the other girls groaned and whined. The waitress was now utterly terrified.

"M-me?" she asked, and the owner nodded.

"Now hurry. They're waiting to be seated."

 _Okay, maybe it won't be so bad. Maybe they won't even know who I am if I just...smile and nod. Smile and nod._

"Hi there, gentlemen. Table for 5?" she asked the paladins, and the same man from before caught her eye. She looked away quickly. Can't make eye contact or they'll suspect me...but those eyes are so intense...

"Uhh, two of our friends might be joining us a little later. Is that okay?" he asked, and the waitress smiled and nodded. "So, my name's Mia. I'll be your server today. Please, follow me to your table."

 _Relax, they don't suspect anything yet. Just be your usual self. These are your normal, everyday customers._

"What drinks can I get started for you gentlemen today?" she asked with a smile, and the blue paladin spoke first.

"Well, it looks like I already found me a tall drink of water, and all I need now is a glass," he said, eyeing Mia like candy.

"Lance!" That black paladin stood up for her. He chewed out his teammate for disrespecting her. Her heart lurched a little.

"I'm sorry, don't mind him," he said, and the green paladin added, "he has basically no filter around pretty women."

Mia excused herself uncomfortably and ran back to the kitchen, hiding behind the doors. She took a deep breath, and with the will of all that she could muster, she went back to their table.

"Sorry! Forgot my check pad," she lied, but the paladins seemed to buy it.

She was quiet as she asked their names for the orders.

"Oh, well, that's Lance, Hunk, Keith, and our leader, Shiro, and I'm Pidge," the green paladin said, and Mia wrote their names all down on her notepad.

"Mia!" the brunette called, "so? Spill everything! What's it like to meet the heroes of Voltron?"

Mia laughed sheepishly. "Excuse me one second, guys," she said, and before any could answer, she bolted back into the kitchen.

"I don't know, Em. I'm just gonna try to focus on doing my job okay?" Mia snapped a bit venomously, and Emily frowned. Her frown quickly turned back into a goofy grin, however, as soon as she saw the little heart dotted about one of the paladins' names.

"Which one's Shiro?" she asked smugly, and Mia froze up, nearly dropping the glass in her hand. She ignored Emily's question, and tried to focus on pouring the drinks instead. Mia held the tray of drinks carefully as she pushed the door to exit the kitchen open, but she stopped dead in her tracks when she heard their conversation.

"Allura! Coran! Did you guys find anything?"

"Unfortunately, all we found was a little more than what we already know. Apparently, this planet 500 years ago was home to a race of people called "jumpers". They can tear small wormholes in open air to travel from one place to another within a single jump. Unfortunately, Zarkon long ago hunted them all down and since then refugees have taken the planet over and have turned it into a trading station much like the market where Pidge and Lance found a newly-developed form of radio. It's really upsetting, and I'd have liked to have seen one in person. There are some questions I'd like to ask them regarding their abilities to jump. If they can open wormholes, maybe they're not too different from Alteans."

"Well, how do you tell a Jumper from others?"

"It's actually really difficult because they are typically very good at blending in. They typically take human form, but the best way to tell is to try and force them into jumping."

Mia closed the door and tried not to panic. She blocked out the rest of the noise around her and forced herself out the door.

"Here are your drinks. I see that your friends finally joined you. Would you two also like to order drinks?" Mia asked, and Allura and Coran exchanged looks before Allura smiled, "just water, please."

"Same here please," Coran said, and Mia left to the drink counter in the kitchen again. Allura looked at her suspiciously.

"What was that waitress' name again?" she asked, and Shiro chuckled. "Jealous? I think she said it was Mia."

"I'm not jealous. I just think she looks familiar, is all. So you don't think we'll have any chance-"

Allura was interrupted by her watch chirping at her. "Looks like we've got to go, paladins. I'm getting a distress signal from the castle's GPS."

The group stood as Mia brought back bottles of water. "What do we owe you, Mia?" Shiro asked, and Mia blushed. "Don't worry about it guys. You're heroes. I get it. Go save some lives," she smiled, and the group all thanked her as they left.

 _Defenders of the Universe, huh? Guess Voltron's new paladins aren't as bad as I thought. Too bad I didn't get to talk to them more. Oh well._

As she walked back into the kitchen, she noticed her coworker struggling to reach something on a ladder when the poor girl suddenly lost her balance. A small black tear appeared behind her as Mia immediately jumped, and in an instant she caught her friend.

MEANWHILE...

Pidge thought meaningfully to herself as she watched the planet they were leaving grow smaller. _Why call a restaurant Jumper's? Strange_...

"Oh, quiznak."

 **So, you got to hear the story from third person around Mia. Hear it from the paladins' view**.

"You know, I get the feeling that this place probably isn't the best place for food. You space people have weird ideas of what food should be," Hunk said, "with no offense, of course."

"Oh, none taken," said Allura, "now remember, don't talk to strangers and have fun!"

Before any of the paladins could protest, they were ejected from the pod to the ground below in front of a glass restaurant, and the pod disappeared into the castle that then wormhole jumped away.

"Well, since it looks like we may be stuck here a while, there's no harm in checking out some of the local proprieters...I guess," Shiro said, and the paladins all walked into the nearby restaurant.

"Alright! Now this is my kind of planet. They've got so much stuff here from back Earth, I think I might stay here forever," Lance said, and Hunk held his stomach. "Man, just when I was starting to get used to the goo at the castle," he whined and Keith made a face. "If I never have to eat eat that goop again, it'd be too soon," he noted, shaking his head.

"Quit your crying and let's get some food. The princess wants us back at the castle by the time she and Coran finish collecting that fuel," Shiro said, but Lance seemed too distracted to hear him.

"Looks like I'm already popular here. Ladies," he said to the pink and brown haired waitresses that passed by.

"We'll be right with you!" the brunette called, and Shiro nodded at a nearby table. "Let's go sit."

"Man, I'm bored. And tired. Are we gonna get some sleep after this?" Lance asked, and Keith sighed. "For once, I'm with Lance. We had a really rough fight back there. Any chance we'll get some rest?"

"I'm sorry guys, but you know we can't rest until we figure out a plan. We still don't know why our lions glitched out and suddenly lost power. That could prove to be a big problem in the fight against Zarkon if he ever catches us in this galaxy. Or any of his druids for that matter," Shiro said, and Pidge added, "I've run some diagnostic tests on my and Hunk's lions. I think I may have a theory on why-"

The group suddenly heard a high pitched squeal and a few of the waitresses ran to their table, bouncing in place.

"You guys are the Paladins of Voltron!? You guys are like, so totally awesome!!" one said, and another was practically crying. "You guys totally saved so many lives!! That's so righteous!!" she choked out, and Lance smirked.

"Yeah, that's us. We're pretty awesome," he said with a little pose. The girls squealed harder, and Keith and Shiro exchanged looks as Pidge kicked Lance under the table.

"Maybe you'd like to take this somewhere else, Lance. Somewhere more private?"

Lance was about to say something when the pink haired waitress walked out. "Nah, I'm good here. Wait for me, ladies?" The waitresses left with pouts on their faces and the pink haired waitress approached the group.

"Hi there, gentlemen. Table for 5?" she asked the paladins, and Shiro accidentally locked eyes with her before she turned away quickly.

"Uhh, two of our friends might be joining us a little later. Is that okay?" he asked, and the waitress smiled and nodded. "So, my name's Mia. I'll be your server today. Please, follow me to your table."

As they sat at a rather large, ovalish table, Keith took notice of the fading signature on a white and red guitar hanging on the wall behind their table. It appeared as if it had been badly smudged by the handprints of dozens, and Keith could barely make out a "K", an "rt", and a "C" "b" "in". Then Mia's voice interrupted his thoughts.

"What drinks can I get started for you gentlemen today?" she asked with a smile, and Lance spoke first.

"Well, it looks like I already found me a tall drink of water, and all I need now is a glass," he said, eyeing Mia like candy.

"Lance!" Shiro barked, and the others groaned and overlapped each other with reasons why Lance's comment was wildly inappropriate and dumb.

"I'm sorry, don't mind him," Shiro said, and Pidge added, "he has basically no filter around pretty women."

Mia excused herself uncomfortably and ran back to the kitchen, hiding behind the doors. The group turne to glare at Lance.

"She was already obviously uncomfortable and what kind of dumb line was that?" Keith asked, and Hunk concurred. "Yeah, you gotta admit, that was a little lame," he said while scratching his arm. Lance made a face that was half a pout half a scowl. "Come on. What would you guys say then?" he asked, "Shiro?"

Shiro shook his head. "Nope, don't drag me into this one this time."

The group all looked at him as if they knew to hold their breath.

"But if it were me I'd probably say something like, 'Do you have a library card? Cause I'm checking you out'."

The group groaned loudly in disgust except for Keith who threw his hands in the air and made a WTF face.

Then Mia approached their table.

"Sorry! Forgot my check pad," she lied, but the paladins seemed to buy it.

She was quiet as she asked their names for the orders. Keith and Shiro exchanged subtle looks. Lance looked up with a gleam in his eye and Keith glared at him as if to say, 'don't you dare.'

"Oh, well, that's Lance, Hunk, Keith, and our leader, Shiro, and I'm Pidge," Pidge said, and Mia wrote their names all down on her notepad.

"Mia!" the brunette called, "so? Spill everything! What's it like to meet the heroes of Voltron?"

Mia laughed sheepishly. "Excuse me one second, guys," she said, and before any could answer, she bolted back into the kitchen.

"Okay, that went slightly better I think," Pidge said, and just as she was about to say something else, Allura and Coran walked in.

"Allura! Coran! Did you guys find anything?" Pidge asked excitedly, but the two shook their heads.

"Unfortunately, all we found was a little more than what we already know. Apparently, this planet 500 years ago was home to a race of people called "jumpers". They can tear small wormholes in open air to travel from one place to another within a single jump. Unfortunately, Zarkon long ago hunted them all down and since then refugees have taken the planet over and have turned it into a trading station much like the market where Pidge and Lance found a newly-developed form of radio. It's really upsetting, and I'd have liked to have seen one in person. There are some questions I'd like to ask them regarding their abilities to jump. If they can open wormholes, maybe they're not too different from Alteans."

"Well, then, how do you tell a Jumper from others?" Shiro asked.

"It's actually really difficult," Coran answered, "they are typically very good at blending in. They also take human form, but the best way to tell is to try and force them into jumping."

"That seems kinda harsh," Hunk said, and Allura sat with her legs crossed. "So it seems, but there's no other patterns, trademarks, or signatures of any kind. The only thing they leave is what they call a "jump scar" for a few seconds. It's a tear in the space-time continuum that allows them to travel from one destination to another. They hardly-"

"Here are your drinks. I see that your friends finally joined you. Would you two also like to order drinks?" Mia asked, and Allura and Coran exchanged looks before Allura smiled, "just water, please."

"Same here please," Coran said, and Mia left to the drink counter in the kitchen again. Allura looked at her suspiciously.

"What was that waitress' name again?" she asked, and Shiro chuckled. "Jealous? I think she said it was Mia."

"I'm not jealous. I just think she looks familiar, is all. So you don't think we'll have any chance-"

Allura was interrupted by her watch chirping at her. "Looks like we've got to go, paladins. I'm getting a distress signal from the castle's GPS."

The group stood as Mia brought back bottles of water. "What do we owe you, Mia?" Shiro asked, and Mia blushed. "Don't worry about it guys. You're heroes. I get it. Go save some lives," she smiled, and the group all thanked her as they ran out the door.

"The distress signal is coming from a planet in a nearby galaxy. It seems to be a small ship..." Allura's voice trailed off in Pidge's head as she looked thoughtfully back at the quickly shrinking restaurant then planet. Why call a restaurant Jumper's? Strange...

"Oh, quiznak."


End file.
